Ruri: Hey there readers, what's up? The author is kinda busy at the moment, so he asked me to fill in for him this time. Its very nice to meet you all, and I hope your all really enjoying the story so far, I know I am. Anyway, it looks like its finally time for my and Draco's fourth gym battle. Think we can win our fourth badges? Lets find out. Read on, and please enjoy.
After Draco's defeat, at the hands of Diantha, he and Ruri return to the Pokémon Center, and decide to start fresh tomorrow.
Draco gives his Pokémon to Nurse Joy, knowing they need a good rest after what they all just went through.
After that, the two trainers go back to their room for the time being.
Draco looks pretty out of it, and its not just because he just lost his first battle in a long time, and everything else that went on during said battle, but also because Draco now finds himself to be more on the stuck side.
Normally, he'd be out training with his Pokémon, travelling, or going to challenge the gym. But since his Pokémon are all out of commission, there really isn't that much he can do, except go back to his and Ruri's room with her and see what happens next.
Its easy for Ruri to see how out of it and deep in thought that Draco is, as she looks at him, and begins to try and think of a way to cheer him up, or at least something they could do to occupy his time.
After they make it back to their room, Draco sits down on his bed and Ruri sits next to him, as a rather awkward silence fills the room.
Draco remains deep in thought, while Ruri tries her very best to come up with something to say to him, anything.
After several minutes, Ruri finally gets an idea. "Hey Draco?"
Draco snaps back to reality and turns to her. "Yes Ruri?"
"I know this is kind of an awkward time to ask, but why don't you go take a shower? I noticed you got really worked up and sweaty during that battle against Diantha. Plus, it might help to relax you and put your mind more at ease." Ruri says to him. She mentally punches herself for it too. She knows that this isn't anywhere near a good conversation starter, and now he's probably gonna look at her as some kind of creep who wants him to shower for some lewd reason, but it was all she could think to say.
Draco listens to her, then smells himself, knowing that she's right. "I see what you mean, and I have to admit that does sound kind of nice. Okay, Ill be done in a little bit. Thanks Ruri." He then stands up, walks over to the bathroom, opens the door, walks inside, then shuts the door behind him. After that, he turns on the water, undresses, and enters the shower. As the hot water runs over his body, Draco is admittedly finally able to relax a bit, for the first time in a long time actually.
Ruri then blushes a bit, surprised that it actually worked, but then she smiles, happy that it did. However, she then recalls her dream from the night before, and listens to the sounds of Draco showering, just beyond the door, as she stares at it, almost hypnotized by it, as she blushes hard now. She also realizes that Draco didn't lock the door, and in her dazed state, she stands up, and begins walking towards the door, stopping just a few inches in front of it. She then swallows the lump in her throat, and slowly reaches for the door knob, blushing harder, as several rather perverted thoughts begin to fill her head.
However, she quickly snaps back to reality and stops herself, now realizing what she has been doing just now. "Gah! What the hell am I thinking?!" She stumbles backwards, sitting on the bed once again, taking several deep breaths, as her heart begins to beat very fast.
After a few minutes, Ruri calms down, mentally punching herself again, and calling herself an idiot for even beginning to think about such things, and here and now of all times and places. Its then that she figures out another way to cheer Draco up, as she smiles at her brilliance, gets up, and leaves the room, sure of herself this time.
Meanwhile, in the shower, Draco now begins to think very deeply about what happened to him during his battle with Diantha. He leans against one of the shower walls, touching it with his forehead and his fist. "...That was way too close...I almost lost control there...and in front of so many people...including her...Ruri." He thinks about her, and how she would react if she ever found out his secret. "If she ever found out, what would she think of me? Would she still want to be my friend? No. I cant let her find out. Ever. I have to be more careful. Much more careful." He looks down at his other hand, thinking about what he is and again about how Ruri would react if she ever were to find out. The very thought of that scares Draco, and though he isn't sure why that is at this time, he does know that he'll do anything and everything in his power to keep that from happening, no matter what it takes.
He grits his teeth, and clenches his fist, feeling frustrated that he let it come so close today. But then he remembers why he is where he is, takes a deep breath, and begins to calm down once again, continuing to enjoy his relaxing shower.
Sometime after that, he exits the shower, dries himself off, gets dressed, then exits the bathroom. What awaits him outside, in their room, is rather surprising to him.
In the time that he was in the shower, Ruri went to the Pokémon Center kitchen, and prepared a very nice looking, and smelling, dinner for the two of them.
Ruri looks at Draco and smiles. "Hey Draco, you look a lot better now. Still, I know how much you like my cooking, so I thought this might help ya too." She blushes a bit, as she did do all of this just for him, and hopes he likes it.
Draco looks back at her, then walks over to her, and nods. "Yeah, thank you Ruri. I appreciate all that your doing for me, and Ill repay your kindness when I see a chance."
Ruri keeps her smile and blush at him, but also shakes her head. "No, its okay Draco. You've already done more for me then almost anyone in my life, and we haven't known each other for very long. I really appreciate all that you've done for me too, I just want you to know that I can be there for you when you need help too." She wants her true feelings to reach him, but is still too scared to actually tell him how she feels about him.
At this time, Draco cant help but smile at her a bit, as he knows that her feelings are sincere. "I know Ruri, and thanks again for worrying about me. But Ill be fine, what happened with Diantha just means that I have to train harder. One day, I will face her again, and it'll be at the World Tournament, and next time, Ill beat her."
Ruri keeps smiling at him, liking it when he smiles. "I know you will Draco, you'll always be the best Pokémon trainer in the world to me. Now c'mon, lets eat before it gets cold." She gestures to the dinner she made.
Draco nods again, then the two of them sit down on opposite side of the table, and begin eating, with Draco really enjoying the taste of Ruri's cooking yet again.
After enjoying their meal, Ruri begins cleaning up, with Draco giving her a hand.
As soon as all the clean up is said and done, Draco lays back on his bed, deciding to stay inside for the night for a change, after some convincing from Ruri of course.
Meanwhile, Ruri has a shower of her own, doing some thinking as well. "Draco knows exactly what he wants out of his journey, and even Rin does too, but what about me? What's my dream?" She thinks out loud, letting the warm water flow over her body. Its then that she again remembers what Draco told her, about leaving Kalos with him, traveling to other regions, and eventually entering the World Tournament with him as well. And the more she thinks about it, about everything, the more she begins to think that it doesn't sound like such a bad idea. Especially since she'll get to spend a lot more time with Draco, and that makes her blush yet again, smiling contently, as her heart begins to beat a little faster. Although, she still isn't entirely sure of what she should do, at this time.
Shortly after that, Ruri exits the shower, dries herself off, and gets dressed in her night gown. She then exits the bathroom, and sees something rather surprising too, but it also makes her smile.
What she sees is Draco, laying back on his bed, with his hands behind his head, sound asleep.
Ruri walks over to his bedside, and looks down at him, still smiling, and she cant help but giggle a little. "He must've been more tired then he let on after the day he's just had." She whispers, so as not to wake him up. She then slowly bends over, and gently rubs his head. "Good night Draco. I hope ya have sweet dreams."
As she does this, Draco begins talking in his sleep, saying only one thing though. "...Mother..."
"Ah." This surprises Ruri a bit, but then she smiles at him again. "You must really love your mother Draco, ya do talk about her all the time. I guess you must miss her." Its then that another thought enters Ruri's mind, which quickly makes her blush just like earlier. She keeps looking down at Draco, then takes a deep breath, and actually follows through with her new thought.
The rest of the night is quiet, as both Draco and Ruri sleep soundly.
However, the following morning reveals a rather shocking development, as the sun shines through the window and into Draco and Ruri's room at the Pokémon Center.
As usual, Draco has woken up more on the early side, but instead of going out to do some training, he takes some time to absorb the surprise he found when he awoke this morning. He looks down at Ruri, lightly tapping her cheek. "Ruri. Ruri. The sun is up, its morning."
Slowly, Ruri begins to stir from her slumber, as her eyes flutter open. She then yawns and looks back up at Draco, her vision coming into focus. Its then that she realizes exactly what she's done, going wide eyed with shock. She slept in Draco's bed with him last night, cuddled up against him.
This all makes Ruri blush very hard, as she quickly sits up, and runs over to the bathroom. "Gah!...Oh my Arceus!" She shuts the bathroom door, then leans against it, her heart beating very fast, and her blush refusing to fade even a little.
Draco watched her leave, taking another minute to absorb this set of events now. However, he then begins to feel something that he's never felt before, as he himself begins to blush a bit now. But for some reason, he also smiles, and turns to the closed bathroom door. "Thank you Ruri." He says to himself, getting up and stretching afterward.
After Ruri takes some time to calm down, she changes back into her usual outfit, then exits the bathroom and smiles at Draco. "Sorry about that Draco."
"No, its fine Ruri. I don't mind, just ask next time, okay?" Draco seems very calm about this for some reason. "Anyway, morning."
Ruri is rather surprised at how calm Draco is about this, but she's happy he isn't upset or weirded out by her at all. "Right, good morning."
The two then go to get their Pokémon back from Nurse Joy, then go to get some breakfast, while taking some time to talk about today's gym battle.
After breakfast, and their conversation, Draco makes Ruri an offer, is she'd like to do some training with him and his Pokémon before the gym battle, as opposed to both of them doing their own training separately.
Ruri is once again surprised by this, as Draco doesn't usually offer this to her, nor does he open up this much to her or anyone as far as she's seen from him in the time she's known him. So, with a big smile, she nods, accepting his offer with happiness in her voice, and all over her face.
The two trainers recall their Pokémon, exit the center, then head out to do some last minute training before their fourth gym battle, the sun shinning brightly on this day, as both trainers feel strangely invigorated.
After their training session, Draco and Ruri make their way over to the gym.
They look up at the gym, then at each other. "Are you ready Ruri?"
She smiles and nods at him. "You know I am Draco. Lets go get our fourth badges."
He nods back at her, then they both enter the gym.
The first thing that they notice is that the inside looks a lot more like a green house then a gym.
Ruri looks around at it all in slight awe. "Wow, so many different plants. This must be a Grass type gym then."
Draco nods in agreement. "Looks like it."
"Hello?! Is anyone here?! We'd like some gym battles please!" Ruri calls out, trying to get the attention of the gym leader.
And sure enough, she does. "Ah, new challengers. Please, come on up." A voice calls out from the top floor of the gym.
Draco and Ruri both turn their attention towards the source of the voice. "I guess that's him." Ruri states, as her and Draco then begin making their way to the top floor.
After they do, they see much more greenery, and what's more, they see a rather elder looking gentleman working on them. "Just a moment please." He says to them, not turning to them just yet, as he continues working on his plants. After a few more minutes, he turns to them, a nice smile on his face. "Sorry about that."
Ruri smiles back at him. "No, its fine. You have some very nice looking plants here..." She stops, as she doesn't yet know his name.
"Oh yes, where are my manners? Its a pleasure to meet both of you, my name is Ramos. I tend to all the wild Grass types in this area, and somehow find time for all this gardening, and being a gym leader. Thank you for you complement as well young lady." He introduces himself, making a little joke as well.
"I can imagine, it all looks like a lot of hard work. And no problem Ramos, my names Ruri. Its nice to meet you too." Ruri keeps her smile, as she introduces herself now.
And now its Draco's turn. "The name's Draco." Short and sweet, still just as anti-social as ever around new people.
Ruri turns to Draco and giggles at him a little.
Draco turns to her, and looks a bit confused.
Ruri then turns back to Ramos. "Sorry about my friend here, he doesn't get out much."
Draco raises one eyebrow at her, only getting even more confused.
Ramos laughs a little himself. "Its perfectly fine. Now then, you two mentioned something about gym battles?"
That Draco understands, as he turns to Ramos and nods. "That's right, we'd each like to battle you for our next badges."
Ramos nods. "Very well then, whose up first?"
Draco and Ruri both turn to each other again, with Ruri speaking first. "Mind if I take the first battle Draco?"
"Go ahead Ruri, I don't mind waiting my turn." He walks over and stands on the sidelines for the time being. "Good luck Ruri." He turns back to the battlefield, wanting to see just how far she's come at this point.
Ruri smiles at him and nods. "Thanks Draco, and I wont be losing today." She then turns back to Ramos, looking ready to battle. "Looks like Im up first, lets go."
"I like your spirit Ruri, now why don't we put it to the test?" Ramos asks her, also looking ready for a good battle, as they both take their places on either side of the battlefield. "This will be a three on three Pokémon battle!"
Draco watches closely from the sidelines, as Ruri and Ramos both pull out their first Poke Balls of choice.
BATTLE START
Ramos is first to throw in his Pokémon. "Now Jumpluff, to my side!"
It appears from his Poke Ball, floating in the air above the battlefield. "Jum! Jumpluff!"
Ruri looks at the Jumpluff. "A Jumpluff huh?" Then she looks at her own Poke Ball and grins, looking confident. "You've got this, its your time to shine. Now Delphox, I choose you!" She throws it into the battle.
It appears, looking stronger then ever before. "Delphox!" It also lets off some flames as it calls out.
Ramos looks at Ruri's Pokémon, impressed by its show of strength. "Well now, that's a mighty fine looking Pokémon you've got there Ruri."
Ruri smiles, happy about his praise. "Thanks Ramos, but you haven't seen anything yet. You ready Delphox? Lets show em what we can do!"
Delphox turns back to its trainer, and smiles at her, nodding. "Del, phox."
Draco continues to watch from the sidelines, looking like he knew this would happen. "I knew she'd use Delphox, even if this wasnt a Grass type gym. It just evolved from Braixen during our training earlier today, and both trainer and Pokémon have grown a lot." He talks to himself, and smiles a bit at Ruri. "Get stronger, strong enough to walk along side me and give me a real challenge, Ruri."
Ruri makes the first move. "Lets do it! Delphox, use Mystic Fire now!"
Delphox uses its move, and it does hit, hard, dealing a lot of damage.
However, Ramos is already ready with a counter measure. "Jumpluff, now, use Sunny Day!"
Jumpluff listens, as the sunlight turns harsh.
At first, Ruri is confused. "Huh? Why use Sunny Day? That just increases the power of our Fire type moves."
Ramos just smiles, and gives his Pokémon another order. "Now, use Synthesis!"
Jumpluff obeys once more, and begins healing.
"Oh no you don't! Use Mystic Fire again!" Ruri calls for another attack.
Although, Ramos is ready this time. "Dodge it!"
In almost the blink of an eye, Jumpluff finishes healing and dodges the attack.
This confuses Ruri, as she tries to follow Jumpluff's movements. "Huh?! What the-?"
"Confused? Jumpluff's ability is Chlorophyll. Meaning when the sunlight is strong, it becomes much faster. Not only that, but it also means that we can use this next move quickly too. Solar Beam!" Ramos explains, then calls for Jumpluff's most powerful attack.
Jumpluff listens again, not needing to take any time to charge up, as it fires its Solar Beam with tons of power, right at Delphox.
Ruri is quick to act though. "Meet the attack Delphox! Flamethrower!"
Delphox also listens, using the most powerful Flamethrower it can muster.
The two attacks collide, and explode with equal, and intense power.
Ruri is quick to take advantage of this opening. "Mystic Fire!"
The opening pays off, as Delphox is once again able to land a good hit on Jumpluff.
Ramos grits his teeth a bit, then counters again. "Quickly, use Stun Spore!"
Jumpluff hangs in there, as it makes its spores rain down over the entire battlefield.
However, Ruri just grins at this, keeping her cool, and remembering everything that Draco has taught her so far. "Delphox, Flamethrower!"
The Flamethrower works perfectly, as it completely burns up every last spore, stopping Jumpluff's attack cold.
Ramos remains calm, and makes his next move. "Use Synthesis once more!"
Jumpluff begins healing again.
But Ruri is ready for it this time. "Not this time! Use Mystic Fire, one more time!"
Delphox gives Jumpluff no time to recover, shooting its flames right at the other Pokémon.
Ramos is backed into a corner this time, but is still ready with another counter attack. "Quickly, Solar Beam now!"
Jumpluff quickly switches gears from one move to the other, and strikes back against Delphox and its attack.
Once again, the two attacks collide. But this time Delphox's attack overpowers Jumpluff's, tearing right through the Solar Beam, and striking Jumpluff, very hard.
"Jumpluff!" Ramos calls out to his Pokémon.
Jumpluff then falls onto the ground, unable to battle any longer. "Jumpluff..."
Ruri smiles big at their first victory in this battle. "Way to go Delphox, thanks!"
Delphox smiles too, nodding at its trainer. "Delphox! Del!"
Ruri then turns to Ramos, still smiling. "Mystic Fire lowers the targets Sp. Attack with every hit, that's how me and Delphox were able to over power you and Jumpluff."
Ramos smiles back at her. "Ah, I see. Very smart of you Ruri, but this battle is still far from finished." He then recalls his Jumpluff. "Thank you very much, my friend." He says to his Pokémon, inside of its Poke Ball.
Draco keeps watching, looking rather interested. "Not bad Ruri. Not bad at all."
Ramos then readys his second Poke Ball, and throws it into the battle. "Its your turn now, Weepinbell!"
It appears on the battlefield. "Weep, in, bell!"
Ruri grins again. "Im gonna stick with Delphox. You've got more in you, right Delphox?"
Delphox nods again, looking ready for much more battling. "Del. Delphox."
Ramos takes the first move this time. "Weepinbell, use Poison Powder!"
Weepinbell obeys, spreading its poison all over the battlefield, just as Jumpluff did in the last battle.
Ruri grins again. "Didn't you see us burn it up last time? Delphox, Flamethrower just like before!"
Just like last time, Delphox's flames burn up all the powder. Only, this time, when the powder clears, its revealed that Weepinbell has gotten in close.
This surprises Ruri, catching her off guard. "What?!"
Ramos smiles at this. "Now, use your Slam attack Weepinbell!"
Weepinbell, taking full advantage of its surprise attack, slams Delphox in the ground, hard.
Ramos is quick to follow up on this chance. "Now use Sludge Bomb!"
Weepinbell shoots its attack down at Delphox while its still down, hitting it with another successful strike.
Ruri begins to worry for her Pokémon. "Delphox, can you get up?!"
Delphox struggles a bit, but is able to get back on its feet.
"Say, Delphox got up after that? Not too bad, but we have plenty more to show you both. Razor Leaf!" Ramos keeps the battle going.
Weepinbell sends its razor sharp leaves right at Delphox.
Ruri narrows her eyes a bit now, looking serious. "That's enough! Alright Delphox, Psychic!"
Using its move, Delphox stops all the leaves in midair, then sends them right back at Weepinbell, damaging it with its own attack, and a little psychic bonus.
This made Ramos grit his teeth, as he decides to go for broke. "Use Poison Powder again!"
Weepinbell spreads its powder over the field just like before.
However, Ruri grins, ready for it this time. "Delphox, Flamethrower!"
Delphox obeys, burning up the powder once again.
"Now, use Slam Weepinbell!" Ramos calls out, as his Pokémon was once again hiding in the powder, ready to strike.
"Sorry, but not this time Ramos! Delphox, use Psychic again!" Ruri calls out, keeping her grin.
And it works, Delphox catches Weepinbell in its Psychic attack, stopping its sneak attack in its tracks this time.
"Oh no!" This surprises Ramos, catching him off guard.
"Now give Weepinbell a throw!" Ruri orders, ready to deal the final blow.
Delphox nods, using its psychic powers, it throws Weepinbell across the battlefield.
Weepinbell then hits the ground, hard, and unable to battle any further now as well. "Weep...in...bell..."
Ramos worries for his Pokémon once again. "Oh no, Weepinbell!"
Ruri smiles big once again. "Alright! Delphox, just one more win! Lets go around one more time!" She yells to her Pokémon, deciding to stick with Delphox right to the end of this battle.
Delphox smiles back at its trainer, feeling just as pumped up as her, and more then ready for one more battle, and to win this whole thing for her. "Delphox!"
Draco doesn't say anything more at the moment and is unable to turn away from this battle, and he has to admit, he's only become even more impressed with Ruri and her progress. Not just in this battle, but as a trainer as well.
Ramos recalls his Weepinbell, then smiles at Ruri again. "Ive got to say Ruri, this is the first time anyone's ever beaten two of my Pokémon with just one of their own. You and Delphox have a strong bond, and you should be proud. But Im not about to concede defeat, so now here's my own strong bond. Lets go, Gogoat!" He throws his final Pokémon into the battle now.
It appears, looking much stronger and more determined then the last two. "Go, goat!"
Ramos wastes no time this time. "Gogoat, use Bulldoze!"
Gogoat's attack erupts, with intense power, shaking the entire gym.
It damages Delphox, and lowers its speed as well.
Ramos is quick to follow up on this. "Now use Horn Leech!"
Gogoat charges at Delphox like a bulldozer.
Ruri isn't about to give up though. "Don't give in Delphox, use Mystic Fire!"
Delphox regains its stance, shooting its flames right at Gogoat.
"Dodge, and keep going!" Ramos tells his Pokémon.
With great speed and agility, Gogoat dodge the flames, then strikes Delphox straight on with its Horn Leech attack.
Ruri is shocked by how fast Gogoat is, but she isn't done just yet. "Try to put some distance between you with Psychic!"
Using its move, Delphox's Psychic sends Gogoat back a little ways, as they both stare each other down now.
Things go quiet in the gym for a few seconds after that, as Ruri tries to think up some sort of strategy.
Ramos, on the other hand, decides to take advantage of this situation and make another attack. "Use Leech Seed!"
Gogoat spreads its seeds all around Delphox, then they sprout and begin to suck all of Delphox's energy out, and transfer it to Gogoat.
This only makes Ruri worry a lot more, as she grits her teeth, and keeps trying her very best to think of a way out of this. And it doesn't take her very long to find her answer, as she remembers Delphox's newest move, she just hopes that it works. "Delphox, Calm Mind!"
Delphox hangs tough, and begins building up energy.
Ramos quickly sees this chance yet again. "Now Gogoat, Aerial Ace!"
Gogoat attacks Delphox while its still focusing, but Delphox refuses to go down.
"Hang in there Delphox, and keep using Calm Mind!" Ruri orders, preparing to pound in the finishing move.
"A good effort, but we wont let you! Gogoat, Bulldoze! And then right into Horn Leech!" Ramos follows up on his previous attack.
Gogoat listens, attacking Delphox with one attack after another. But still, the Fire type will simply not go down.
And soon enough, Ruri's opportunity shows itself, as Delphox builds up tremendous energy.
Ruri grins at this. "Now! One more time, Mystic Fire!"
Delphox unleashes all of its new power at once, hitting Gogoat while its still in close. The flames engulf Gogoat, causing some real, major, big time damage.
Both sides wait for the smoke to clear, waiting to see the results. And when they do, the result is clear, Gogoat is down, unable to battle, while Delphox remains on its feet. "Go...Gogoat..."
BATTLE END
Upon seeing this, Ruri smiles big, then runs at her Delphox, and hugs it, overjoyed at this outcome. "Alright! We did it! We won! I knew you could do it Delphox! Thank you so much, you were amazing!"
Delphox smiles back at its trainer, and hugs her back. "Del, Delphox!"
Despite being defeated, Ramos smiles, walks over to his Pokémon, and recalls it. "Thank you my old friend, you've done well. Now please get some rest." Then he turns his attention to Ruri and walks over to her. "That was a fantastic battle Ruri, you really are something special."
Ruri turns to Ramos and smiles back at him. "Thanks Ramos, your a great trainer yourself."
He laughs a bit. "Well thank you for saying so, but you still had two Pokémon left besides your Delphox. The end result was clear as day."
Ruri laughs a bit too. "Yeah, I guess when ya put it that way it kind of was. I just wanted to see if I could win with only my partner, Delphox. Sorry if I was showing off a little too much there."
"Now, now. No need to apologize, although I am curious. Why did you feel the need to show off the way you did?" He then whispers to her. "Was it perhaps to impress your boyfriend over there?" He gestures to Draco, still on the sidelines, patiently awaiting his turn to battle.
Upon hearing the word "boyfriend" Ruri blushing right away. "B-B-B-Boyfriend?!" She then begins to rapidly shake her hand. "No! No! No! No! No! Im sorry, but you've got the wrong idea! Draco's great and cool and really strong and all, but we're just friends!" She blushes harder, not believing that she just said all of that out loud, as she quickly covers her mouth, mentally cursing and punching herself.
This all makes Delphox sigh, close its eyes, look down, and slowly shake its head, much like the way a parent would to its child when they say "What am I gonna do with you?"
Ruri turns to Delphox and glares at it a bit. "Oh be quiet you!" She then recalls it back to its Poke Ball.
This all makes Ramos laugh a lot more, but he quickly regains his composure. "There's no need to be so embarrassed Ruri, Im sorry I misunderstood your relationship with Draco. Although, I believe that it does seem like you wish to be more then just friends with him. Am I correct on that much at least?" He asks her, still whispering.
Ruri looks at him again, then looks down a bit, blushes some more, and slowly nods. "Please don't say anything to him." She whispers back.
"Your secret is safe with me Ruri." He assures her, smiling at her once more.
Ruri takes a deep breath, calms down, and finally stops blushing. "Thanks Ramos."
"Anytime. Now then, here is proof of your victory at my gym. The Grass Badge." He holds out a badge for her.
Ruri smiles, nods, then takes it from him. "Thank you again Ramos." She then puts it into her badge case.
"Your very welcome. Now, while I go restore my Pokémon back to full health, why don't you go tell Draco that Id be more then happy to battle him next?" Ramos turns, and goes to get some healing supplies for his Pokémon.
Ruri smiles and nods again. "Okay, got it. Thank you." She then turns to Draco and walks over to him.
Draco looks at her. "That was a great battle Ruri, ya did a good job."
Ruri blushes, overjoyed that he praised her, but keeps her explosion and shrieking on the inside for now, and just smiles at him. "Oh, you really think so? Thanks Draco, that means a lot coming from you."
"Don't be like that Ruri. When it comes right down to it, I didn't do anything. You won that battle, by working together with your Pokémon, as a team. And if you want my honest opinion, your a lot stronger then you give yourself credit for. You should be careful, if you start to doubt yourself, or rely too much on others, your Pokémon will sense it, and then that strength will begin to waver." Draco says to her, every one of his words very sincere.
Hearing all of this from him only makes Ruri blush even more, and she knows that he's right. "Okay, I will. Thanks again Draco."
"Don't mention it Ruri. Oh, and by the way. Just because you build your own strength, that doesn't mean that you should shut out your friends. That's something that you taught me." Draco tells her, smiling at her a little.
Ruri blushes hard now, not saying another word, unable to form any at this time.
Draco then turns his attention to the battlefield. "Well, looks like its my turn." He then takes his place on his side of the battlefield.
Ruri stands on the sidelines now, smiling at Draco yet again. "Good luck Draco!" She cheers for him, but she knows that he'll do just fine.
Ramos soon returns, smiling over at Draco. "Sorry for the wait, Im eager to see what kind of battle you'll give me Draco."
Draco readys his first Poke Ball without so much as a second thought, looking his usual serious, battle ready self. "Come at me and find out."
Ramos readys his first Poke Ball now too. "I can see that you have a fine spirit as well."
BATTLE START
Ramos is first to throw his Pokémon into the battle. "Now Weepinbell, lets go one more time!"
It appears, looking to be back to its full strength. "Weepin, bell!"
"Weepinbell. Noibat, standby for battle!" Draco throws his Pokémon of choice in now as well.
It appears, flying above the field. "Noibat!"
Ruri keeps watching from the side, just as Draco did for her, knowing all too well how strong Draco is, knowing that he's definitely bounced back after his battle with Diantha yesterday, and knowing that he will pull this off with little to no problem.
Ramos makes the first move. "Weepinbell, Poison Powder!"
Weepinbell sprays its poisonous powder all over the field.
Draco is prepared though. "Noibat, Gust now!"
With some quick flapping of its wings, Noibat repels all the poison, blowing it all away.
Ramos grins. "Not so bad Draco! Now use Slam!"
Weepinbell jumps at Noibat, hitting it hard with its Slam attack.
Draco doesn't look the least bit worried though. "Noibat use Supersonic!"
Noibat quickly bounces back after the attack it just took, then uses its move.
It works too, as Weepinbell is now very confused.
Ramos begins to worry now. "Oh no, snap out of it Weepinbell! Use Slam again!"
It doesn't work though, as Weepinbell attacks itself instead.
On the other side of the battlefield, Draco is now ready to end this bout. "Noibat Air Slash, now!"
Noibat uses its move, with lots more power behind it then the last time Noibat was in a battle. "Noi...bat!" It hits Weepinbell quick and hard.
After its over, it is revealed that Weepinbell can no longer battle, as it lays there on the ground. "Weepinbell..."
Ramos is rather surprised at first, since this battle was over rather quickly. But he quickly regains his composure, and smiles, recalling his Weepinbell back to its Poke Ball. "Well now, that didn't take very long at all, now did it? You have some real talent for battle there Draco."
Draco recalls his Noibat, readying his second Poke Ball already. "Thanks, but lets finish this battle before we start handing out complements."
Ramos readys his second Poke Ball now too. "Yes, I see. Your very serious about winning. Seems you already know what you want, and your going for it."
Ruri smiles, knowing right from the start that this wouldn't take very long. And after she hears Ramos' last line, she sighs, but keeps her smile. "Oh my Arceus, you don't even know." She says to herself, still watching the battle with interest.
Ramos then throws his next Pokémon into the battle. "Your up next, Jumpluff!"
It appears, floating gently in the air, just as it did during Ruri's battle. "Jumpluff! Jum!"
Draco then throws in his second Pokémon of choice too. "Skrelp, standby for battle!"
It appears before them all, looking ready to give it all its got. "Skrelp! Skrelp!"
Ramos starts it off once again. "Sunny Day, now!"
The sunlight turns harsh again, increasing Jumpluff's power, and decreasing the power of Skrelp's Water type moves.
He then quickly follows up on this. "Now use Solar Beam!"
Jumpluff fires its beam right at Skrelp.
Although, Draco is ready for this. "Use Double Team!"
In the blink of an eye, Skrelp makes tons of copies of itself, and easily dodges the Solar Beam.
Ramos is also ready with another counter measure. "Not bad, but now try this Stun Spore!"
Jumpluff spreads its spores, stopping the Double Team and paralyzing Skrelp.
This makes Draco grin though. "I thought you might do that."
Ramos begins to worry, not sure what he means by that.
"Now use Facade!" Draco orders.
Skrelp obeys, hitting Jumpluff with a powered up Facade attack, thanks to the paralyzing.
Ramos grits his teeth, still in this battle. "Synthesis quickly!"
Jumpluff begins to recover its strength.
Draco isn't about to let it finish though. "I don't think so. Sludge Wave!"
Skrelp uses its move, with great speed, despite being paralyzed.
It hits Jumpluff hard, while its still in the middle of healing, knocking it right down to the ground.
Ramos worries for his Pokémon, hoping its okay. "Jumpluff!"
However, its then revealed that Jumpluff is no longer able to stay in this battle. "Jum...Jumpluff..."
Ramos sees this and sighs, but smiles, recalling his Pokémon back just like before. "Well done Jumpluff, thank you again my friend."
Draco recalls his Skrelp as well, once again readying his next Poke Ball for the final battle.
Ruri has been watching this entire time, now really enjoying this, and smiling big at Draco. "I didn't know Skrelp could use Facade, that was so cool. Go Draco! Just one more battle to go!" She begins to cheer for him, without even realizing it.
Ramos readys his final Poke Ball too, smiling at Draco again. "You seem to be very set on winning this battle as quickly as possible Draco."
"Well I do have other places to be." Draco responds, referring to the other five regions he plans to travel to after finishing collecting badges in the Kalos region.
"I see, well then lets try to make this last battle memorable. Come to my side Gogoat!" Ramos throws his final Pokémon into the battle.
It appears, looking rested and ready to rumble one more time. "Go! Goat!"
Draco grins. "Sounds good. Tyrantrum, standby for battle!" He throws his final Pokémon of choice into the battle as well.
It appears on the battlefield, roaring loudly, and ready to give it all its got. "Tyrantrum!"
Ruri keeps her watchful eye on this battle, knowing instantly that this is sure to be a good one.
As it begins, Draco does nothing, so Ramos takes the first move once more. "Alright Gogoat, use Horn Leech!"
Gogoat charges right for Tyrantrum.
Draco doesn't say or do anything, and Tyrantrum takes the hit head on.
Ramos wonders why Draco let that happen, but then decides to take another shot, since this is still a battle. "Use Horn Leech again Gogoat!"
Gogoat attacks again, and the same exact thing happen again, with Draco not saying or doing anything and Tyrantrum taking another hard hit.
Now Ruri also begins to wonder what's going on, not sure why Draco is acting like this so suddenly, as just a second ago he seemed rather eager to finish this battle up quickly and move on to their next location.
Ramos is now more on the confused side, but since Draco still wont attack, or do anything at all really, he decides that he'll just have to attack one more time. "Alright Gogoat, give them one more Horn Leech!"
As Gogoat approaches Tyrantrum once more, its right then and there that Draco finally acts. "Tyrantrum Ice Fang!"
Tyrantrum acts just as quickly as Draco, and at the very moment Gogoat is close enough, Tyrantrum grabs it in his giant mouth, holds on tight, and uses its move, causing Gogoat some serious damage and trapping it inside Tyrantrum's powerful jaws.
This surprises both Ruri and Ramos, as they both needed a minute to process what had just happened.
Ruri also realizes what Draco did. "So that's it. Draco waited for an opening, and now Gogoat is trapped and helpless. Slick move." She very impressed by Draco's battle styles again.
Gogoat struggles, but its pointless.
"Break free Gogoat! Use Leech Seed!" Ramos calls for another move, hoping to free his Gogoat from this predicament.
Draco isn't about to let that happen though. "Fire Fang!"
Tyrantrum quickly switches gears, from Ice Fang to Fire Fang, causing Gogoat a lot more damage.
Draco then closes his eyes, knowing its all over now. "We're done. Dragon Claw!"
Tyrantrum hits Gogoat hard, still at such a close range in its large jaws.
"No! Gogoat!" Ramos calls out to his Pokémon.
However its already too late, as Gogoat is no longer able to battle anymore.
Tyrantrum releases Gogoat from its jaws, and the battle ends with Draco as the victor.
BATTLE END
Ramos smiles and recalls his Gogoat. "I suppose that's it."
Draco nods. "Guess so." He then turns to his Tyrantrum. "Nice work Tyrantrum, good battle."
Tyrantrum turns back to its trainer, and nods at him. "Ty, ran, trum."
Draco then recalls it back to its Poke Ball.
After that, Ruri runs over to Draco and smiles at him. "That was awesome Draco, nice work!"
Draco turns to her and smiles back. "Thank you Ruri."
Ramos then walks over to him. "You have beaten me Draco, I can see that you'll go very far in this world indeed. This Grass Badge rightfully belongs to you." He hands him a badge, smiling at him.
Draco takes it from him, and puts it into his badge case. "Thanks Ramos. Now we'd better be going Ruri, we should be able to make it to Lumiose City before nightfall." He then begins walking towards the exit.
Ruri nods, and follows him, but turns back to Ramos, smiles, and waves goodbye. "So long Ramos, goodbye, and thanks again!"
Ramos smiles and waves back to them. "Have a safe journey you two!"
Then, after a quick stop at the Pokémon Center for some recharge, and some lunch, Draco and Ruri leave Coumarine City and enter Route 13, bound for Lumiose City, and their fifth gym battles.
As they walk, Ruri glances at Draco and smiles, knowing that he's back to his usual self, and has maybe even started to open up to her, even if its only a little.
Draco notices and turns to her. "What are you so happy about?"
Ruri giggles a bit, turning back to the path ahead of them. "Oh its nothing Draco." She then runs ahead of him, then giggles a little more and turns back to him. "C'mon Draco! Ill race ya to Lumiose City! Last one there pays for dinner!"
Draco grins at her, feeling challenged, then runs after her. "If that's what you want Ruri, then game on!"
Ruri just cant stop her laughter at this point, and at this moment, she seems to forget about all her worries, and feels really happy, wishing that this moment would last forever. But she also knows that there will be plenty more where this came from, because she and Draco still have plenty of journey left to enjoy.
Ruri: *Laughter* Good times. Looks like Draco is really starting to open up to me, I just hope I can get him to stop hating Fairy and Ice types so much, but Im sure Ill get there in time. And speaking of going places, looks like me and Draco are headed back to Lumiose City. The fifth gym battle awaits, but I do wonder what kinds of things will happen between now and then? Only time will tell, and the author when he makes the next chapter. Until then, its been a lot of fun getting to narrate for you all. Ruri, signing out. This is Pokémon Clear Version. See ya next time!